Court Need Not Send Disputed Will to Handwriting Expert, Can Compare Signatures Under Section 72 BSA: Supreme Court

In an eviction suit pending since 2020 before the 12th Civil Judge, Junior Division, Gwalior, the tenant-defendants applied, about four years into the trial and after the evidence was recorded, to send the Will in question to a handwriting expert (paras 3, 5). The trial court refused on 06.10.2025, holding that it could decide the question itself. On 27.10.2025 the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior held that sending the Will to an expert was essential to determine its genuineness (paras 3, 14). The appellant challenged that order; the tenants relied on Thiruvengada Pillai v. Navaneethammal (paras 4-7).

The question was whether expert opinion under Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 was essential, or whether the court could compare the writing itself under Section 72, which allows comparison with admitted or proved signatures and lets the court direct a person to write in court (para 8). The law leaves it to the court's discretion whether to compare the signatures itself or to seek an expert's opinion (para 10). It is the court's duty to compare and reach its own conclusion; that duty cannot be avoided by saying the court is not an expert, and expert evidence is only an opinion that does not bind the court (para 11). The court may still seek an expert where it has doubt or the writing or impression is smudgy, vague or very light (para 11). Thiruvengada Pillai concerned a finger impression, not handwriting or a signature, and does not make expert evidence essential in every case of disputed writing, signature or finger impression (para 12). The trial court's view was sound, and its eventual finding remains open to challenge (para 13).